


The Population and Socio-Political Structure of New Rome and Camp Jupiter

by WingletBlackbird



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Meta Essay, Worldbuilding, cross-posted from tumblr, non-fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25999489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingletBlackbird/pseuds/WingletBlackbird
Summary: Part I: Population and ImplicationsWhere I discuss why the number of campers at Camp Jupiter is probably at least ten times more than what Riordan portrayed.Part II: The Structure of New Rome’s MilitaryHow this increase in population does or does not affect what we see in canon. Also why it is significant that Octavian is at the head of the first cohort and Percy goes to the Fifth.Part III: Socio-political ImplicationsWhere we discuss  the dynamic in New Rome, why the senators should not be the centurions, and what Octavian’s motivations might be. Ultimately, why there is definitely a class divide between the old and new blood.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	The Population and Socio-Political Structure of New Rome and Camp Jupiter

**Part I: Population and Implications**

In Son of Neptune, it is indicated that there are about a couple hundred children training at Camp. I would like to argue that this number makes little contextual sense. We are given to understand that Camp Jupiter trains its legacies for several generations. Additionally, Camp Jupiter has been around since, at least, the American Civil War. Given that, in the PJO series, it is indicated that some of the founding fathers were demigods, it is likely that the camps were around since the late 18th century or early 19th. When you do the math, a couple hundred kids just is not enough.

If we assume that when the camp moved from European soil to American soil not every demigod and/or legacy wanted to make the shift, there were only a few hundred soldiers at camp by the year 1800. Nonetheless, with the two hundred plus years between then and Son of Neptune, the number of potential descendants is significant. Additionally, there are a couple hundred minor gods whose children must now be claimed due to Zeus’s pact with Percy. This means that the numbers at Camp Jupiter must have gone up the same as Camp Half-Blood’s numbers did. There are around maybe 200 campers at Camp Half-Blood, potentially, as of HoO, but the exact same number at Camp Jupiter? Very unlikely! 

If we assume a few hundred Roman campers as of the year 1800, and start multiplying their descendants, (up to around the fourth generation, or more if legacies married each other), as well as adding in the new demigod blood etc. I would argue that the peak population of people training in the legion to be around 4,500 in the early 20th century with numbers dropping towards the end of the 20th century. By the time Percy arrives, it is probably about 2,700 to 3,000 at maximum.

Contextually, not only does this make more sense mathematically, it also makes more sense in terms of the terminology used. Reyna calls herself the “Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.” Now, the title Praetor is an interesting one. Technically, the leader of a legion is the _Legatus Legionis_. However, for the sake of simplicity, as Roman history is vast, a praetor is the leader of an army. It is also a political role. This suggests to me that New Rome has one legion that makes up their entire army. Hence, Reyna is “Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.” It is the Twelfth specifically, rather than any other number, or no number, because that is a legion of legend. This also makes sense when she tells Percy that he has not seen the “Legion in action,” because the legion is the whole army. I highly doubt there are more (even if it may have been implied). 

I imagine Riordan reduced the numbers the way he did, to make the civil war between the camps seem more even, but in the context of the world he gave us, it makes no sense. The Romans would vastly outnumber their Greek counterparts. There is a reason New Rome has a population enough to sustain a small university. The previous civil wars between the camps did not happen in a vacuum; they were a part of larger conflicts. It did not matter that there were more Romans since they trained their legacies, because the Greeks had their own allies as well. The Romans and Greeks prior to their forced separation may not have trusted each other, but I imagine the war where it was exclusively camp members involved was fairly unique. Prior to it, the camps just backed or influenced larger political and military events.

**Part II: How This Larger Population Fits Into the What we See at Camp Jupiter**

Given the description of generally standard weaponry, and that this can be supplied to newcomers, as well as descriptions of the divisions and ranks, I assume that Riordan is basing his writing largely on the Roman Army after the Marian Reformations. Hence, that is the period of history I will be largely drawing from. It also makes sense in terms of how the gods reflect modernity, as it is this type of Roman military I feel is most commonly thought of by pop culture. Upping the population actually changes very little in terms of what we see in the HoO series.

The most basic group building up the army would be the _contubernium_. These would be a group of about eight soldiers who all shared a tent or barracks. I imagine this would be directly applicable to the breakdown of the cohorts in the standard barracks of ten in Camp Jupiter. People in the contubernium would be both rewarded and punished together. They would be led by a _decanus_ who would likely be the most experienced member of the contuberium. This rarely translated to command in the battlefield, however, and was often reserved for camp responsibilities. The decanus was probably responsible for making sure their tent (barrack) were kept tidy and their fellow members were on track and on time. While I said the contubernium were made up of eight soldiers, there were often ten people total, as two other auxiliary members would be there to help with logistics or special skills. Since some soldiers could be specialised anyway, these roles could overlap. Specialised soldiers were _immunes_.

About ten contubernium would make up a _centuria_ which would have between 80-100 people. About six of these would make up a cohort. And ten of those would make up a legion. Given that I estimate the population of the legion to be about 2700-2800 as of Percy’s arrival, (which is less than at its peak of 4500). Five cohorts actually works quite well, (...albeit with the more typical number rather than what Riordan indicated in Son of Neptune.) Incidentally, the best members of legion were expected to be in the First Cohort, with the least experienced in the Tenth Cohort. Since Riordan only had five cohorts in Camp Jupiter, it makes sense that Riordan made the Fifth Cohort the “Greeks and geeks.”

It also makes sense that you would have to be the rank of centurion to lead in a quest. Centurion was a very respected but flexible rank. They made up a good portion of the commanders in the army. The centurion with the most clout or seniority would be the _primus pilus_ which would put him in command of the first century of the first cohort. S/he would lead the entire first cohort into battle. Without getting into complicated ranks, I will simply say that on average each centuria had six centurions of varying ranks. The first centurion of the first cohort would be the most prestigious with the sixth centurion of the tenth, or in the case of Camp Jupiter, the Fifth, being the least prestigious. We can assume then that Octavian, as “the most senior centurion” who was “at the head of the First Cohort”, is pretty special indeed.

There are some other notable ranks like _optio_ which would be the second in command of the centurions. There was also _tesserarius_ who helped the optio _._ There was one of each for each century. There were many other specific ranks as well, such as the person who holds the eagle, or blows the horn etc.

**Part III: Socio-political Implications**

I appreciated the fact that Hazel was mocked for carrying a cavalry sword, because a lot of the Roman hierarchy was, by its very nature, divided by class. Cavalry was very much the position of the wealthy. Eventually, the cavalry was typically supplied by allied or auxiliary forces and Rome did not much bother with its own. Under the Marian Reforms, you might be supplied the basic equipment, but Rome definitely would not be supplying the horses and food and special equipment you would need for cavalry. Also, the stirrup had not been invented yet so, you would often have to dismount to fight. Hazel might have a _spatha_ , but it was very unlikely for her to be able to afford to be cavalry. She would have to supply her own horse and food for the horse and everything else!

This also leads to another interesting observation that Hazel is even carrying a spatha at all. Rome is supposed to supply basic weapons and armour for the new recruits, but they would be giving her a _gladius_ not a _spatha_. I figure there are two reasons for this phenomenon. One is that thanks to the failed expedition to Alaska, a lot of Rome’s weaponry was lost. This means Hazel has to make do with less. You take what you can get. Secondly, this is not old Rome. Camp Jupiter is not an empire. They do not nearly have the same resources. This means that people who can afford to supply their own weapons probably did. This makes it much easier for the wealthy and established demigod families to advance. Hazel may have been able to afford a spatha and decided to at least get that.

Furthermore, we can observe that Percy is immediately placed with the “losers” of the Fifth Cohort, because he has no papers, no one to vouch for him, no money etc. It is also noted that “a good letter could get you...even special jobs like legion messenger, which made you exempt from grunt work.” This sounds like the immunes who historically could only get exempt from such work after serving for awhile. Clearly, at Camp Jupiter, if you already prove you are connected and specialized, it does not matter if you have served at all. Why would a son of Vulcan do grunt work when he can make weapons from the get-go? 

This system means that you are at a disadvantage if you are new and connection-less. The Senate, who appoints a lot of the leadership, will naturally favour their children and allied families. I think we can see this in Octavian who is very proud of his legacy status. He is important and he knows it. He likes to show it off. I have no doubt that is how he got to be such a high-ranking centurion.

However, a consequence of the Marian Reforms meant that anyone could join the army, which did make the military dangerous to the ruling elite. I think we can see this divide in the praetorship. The population of the legion is significant in New Rome. If the Praetor or Praetors have enough loyalty form the legion, they could stage a coup against the entrenched elite. They also have political power in the senate. This creates an interesting tug of war.

We are told that the Senators in New Rome are the centurions. Quite frankly I think that is ludicrous. The laws, (or decrees, technically, possibly), that affect the entirety of New Rome, including business owners, families, retired veterans, a whole lot of adults, are not decided by teenagers, thank you. That is nuts. In Ancient Rome, the senators were appointed. They also, as a rule, had to be wealthy. I imagine in New Rome, they are almost exclusively from well-off legacy families. The exception to this would be the praetors. While they are teens in the HoO series, I would argue this is because of the war. I imagine praetors are often older, career soldiers.

We are never given much about Octavian’s initial motivations, but if I had to guess he is driven by a fear of being overrun by those of lesser wealth and status. Losing all that gold in Alaska only served to skew the balance of power in the favour of powerful legacy families who could afford new weaponry. However, the arrival of Jason Grace, and then the sudden claiming of all of these new demigods, means this power is lost a bit. There are more new and unknown demigods to rise through the ranks and gain favour. (Additionally, some powerful demigods like Nico may be able to serve as “ambassadors” in the Senate to represent the gods interests. Octavian may even do this for Apollo in his role as augur.)

Now, we know that Jason storms Mount Othrys and kills a Titan. However, Jason was probably centurion of the Fifth Cohort when that happened. He was not the highest ranking commander; he was one of the least. It was typical to place the least inexperienced members of the legion in the front; Jason and the Fifth Cohort likely were right at the front at Mount Orthrys because they were so undervalued. Jason turned things around. I doubt that pleased Octavian. He probably put Jason at the front and hoped he would die there. Instead, he becomes Praetor. Jason has the clout of Jupiter, possibly Juno, and the military to put pressure on the Senate. Worst, suddenly all these demigods are being claimed. I imagine the bond between Reyna and Jason is about how they worked hard to get where they are despite the opposition from the powerful legacy factions and their poor resources. 

When Jason disappears, it is an opportunity for Octavian in his prestigious position to angle for praetor to make sure these new-fangled demigods remain loyal to the true Roman ideals. He can make sure the army is loyal to _him_ , as it should be in his eyes.There is almost certainly a duality between the new blood and the old blood in New Rome.

When Percy, Frank and Haze succeed in their mission, not only does Octavian fail to get the leadership position he wanted, there are also more weapons to distribute to the recruits now. This means that the balance of power is much more even for the first time in a century: New demigods can work their way up, or serve as ambassadors of the gods, while the old blood serves as senators and tries to manipulate the commanders of the Legion. Of course Octavian is not happy! He wanted to keep the new upstarts under-wraps and dependent solely on his favour. 


End file.
